Township to improve crisis management
SPARTA — The Township Council launched a new committee whose goal will be to improve civilian emergency preparedness and communication with township service providers during a crisis.
The Crisis Management/Public Safety Committee is the idea of new councilwoman Chris Quinn, who will also be the committee chair. In their meeting last week, the council unanimously approved the new committee.
Quinn said the idea for such a committee came to her during the aftermath of Super-Storm Sandy when so many Sparta residents were without power and unaware of what to do and where to go for help.
The committee will establish emergency processes and channels of communication in the event of something like Sandy, Quinn said. She emphasized that the Sparta Police Department did an excellent job of informing citizens through their Facebook page and responding to citizen calls. This new committee would not interfere with police procedures nor duplicate their communication processes.
Instead, Quinn said the committee would seek to provide additional avenues of communication to provide people with information about available services through a team of civilian volunteers and representatives from key groups in town. The information would be provided ahead of time so if they do not have access to phones or internet, they will know where to go for services.
For example, Quinn said during the Sandy aftermath, Lake Mohawk Country Club provided a warming area for those without heat and the library and municipal building provided cell phone and computer charging stations. But she said many residents didn’t know these areas and services were available to them.
The new committee will seek to involve representatives from several organizations in town, such as the schools, churches, the LMCC, the Senior Committee, various clubs and other key groups.
Quinn said they do not want “to reinvent the wheel”, but to explore all options to become as prepared as possible in the future.
Communication Committee reinstated
Another new committee approved by the council this month is the Communication Committee. This committee was actually put in place by former Mayor Manny Goldberg several years ago but was disbanded under former Mayor Scott Seelagy.
The current council has agreed to reinstate the committee increase communication between township officials, the council, and the community. Quinn will also chair this committee and sees it working hand-in-hand with the Crisis Management/Public Safety committee.
Quinn said at first the committee will consist of herself, Township Manager David Troast, and IT Director Mike Dempsey so they can do a review of current communication processes and identify the needs and possible methods for improvement. Then they plan to involve community volunteers on the committee.
Quinn said, “This is about involving and engaging the community. We have a lot of great people in Sparta who have excellent skills and relevant experiences. We want to leverage that and allow them to be part of the solutions.”